Coming off a successful inaugural event in 2011, Ryder Hesjedal’s Tour de Victoria (TDV) announced a three-year presenting sponsor partnership with GoodLife Fitness.

“We are very happy to partner with such a successful company,” said Seamus McGrath, TDV Director. “We know they are big supporters of Ryder and his goal of getting people involved in cycling and staying fit and in good health.”

“With almost 300 clubs from coast to coast, we are looking forward to sharing the opportunity to participate in the ride with our members and cyclists from across the country,” said GoodLife Fitness CEO, David Patchell-Evans.

On June 24th, cyclists from across the country will be gathering in British Columbia’s capital city for the second annual Tour de Victoria, which is quickly becoming Canada’s premier Gran Fondo (a supported mass participation ride.) Supported by Canada’s leading cyclist, Olympian Ryder Hesjedal, the Tour will serve as a headline event for the Victoria International Cycling Festival.

In addition to the new sponsorship from GoodLife Fitness, the TDV team also announced a number of upgrades for this year’s event.

“We asked our participants, sponsors and volunteers how we might be able to improve on our inaugural year and we received some great feedback,” said McGrath. “As a result, we’ve tweaked specific features of the ride to allow even more people to participate.”

Highlights of the changes include:

• Tour Distances - 140 km, 100 km and 50 km rides

• Start Locations - There will be three different starting locations:

140km - Victoria100km - Langford50km - Sidney

The finish line will remain in Victoria at the BC Legislature

• Event Date - To allow more training time in the warmer months, especially for our friends in other parts of the country, this year’s Tour will take place a month later than in 2011. Participant feedback mentioned that training time was shortened due to weather conditions leading up to the Tour. This also takes us away from the very busy Swiftsure weekend in May.

For participants who want to begin training, this map will provide key information to assist with Tour preparations.

Due to a scheduling conflict, Ryder Hesjedal will not be in attendance at this year’s event. He has been selected as Team Leader for the Garmin-Cervelo team during the upcoming Giro d'Italia, a crucial training race leading up to the Tour de France on June 30.

“I would love to take part again in this year’s Tour de Victoria, but my training schedule is very tight leading up to the Tour de France,” said Hesjedal. “Being selected as Team Leader for the Giro is a huge honour and I need to make sure my mind and body are completely focused on the task at hand.”

“I do look forward to coming back and leading the Tour de Victoria in the future. However, this being an Olympic year, I will be focusing on racing in Europe over the next several months.”

As a bonus to registrants and to help them in their training, GoodLife Fitness will be giving all TDV riders complementary one to three month memberships.

Registration for the 2012 TDV is now open. When registering, all participants have the option to donate to the GoodLife Kids Foundation (GLKF). Backed by world champion and former Canadian Olympic rower Silken Laumann, the GoodLife Kids Foundation is a private Canadian Foundation that envisions a Canada where all kids have the opportunity to benefit from an active life. www.goodlifekids.com